Google pulls Bomb Gaza game after public outrage

A mobile game that simulates Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has been pulled
from Google's App Store, after a huge public backlash

A mobile game that simulates Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and invites users to "drop bombs and avoid killing civilians" has been pulled from Google Inc's app store, a company spokesman said on Monday after a public backlash.

"Bomb Gaza," developed by PlayFTW and still available as an app on Facebook, simulates the on-going conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, which dominates the Palestinian territory. Players drop bombs from a fighter jet while dodging missiles from Hamas fighters in black and green masks.

A spokesman for Google said: "we remove apps from Google Play that violate our policies," confirming that the game had been removed from the Google Play app store. Google did not specify which policy the game had violated.

Google Play has rules that prohibit content that amounts to hate speech, bullying and violence and lets users flag abusive content. The game triggered outraged comments on the Google app store review page as well as on Facebook. It had been downloaded about 1,000 times since its 29 July launch, according to the Guardian.